


The Boy Next Door

by simpleandpure22



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 18:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10418895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleandpure22/pseuds/simpleandpure22
Summary: It starts with some mail mix-ups, and then it becomes something more.A lot more.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I know what you're thinking: This pairing seems very random. And in a way it is. xD  
> They don't have any interaction (except for that one time with U21), and the only thing they have in common is that I love both of them.  
> But I'd had the idea for this fic for a while, and I couldn't find other players who would fit the characters more than Jonas and Leon do. And I'm really happy with how the fic turns out. :)
> 
> So, enough rambling. I hope you enjoy it!

Jonas doesn’t like rain. Or snow. Or anything that falls from the sky. Which is why maybe he shouldn’t live in Düsseldorf, since it rains more here than in Heidelberg. But he has to, more precisely his work requires him to. After finishing culinary school in Frankfurt, he went back to Heidelberg and worked in a French restaurant for a few years. Then David, the head chef, opened his own restaurant in Düsseldorf and he offered Jonas a junior sous chef position. Such a good opportunity wouldn’t come twice, right? So without further thinking, Jonas packed his bags and moved.

Today started off with a nice sunshine almost the whole day, but when Jonas drives home the cloud gets thicker and by the time he parks the car it’s pouring down.

His already foul mood gets worse when he opens his apartment door and sees the mail. There’s only one letter—and it’s not even for him. Why does this keep happening? Jonas has ended up with his neighbour’s mails six times since he moved in. _Six fucking times._ He remembers complaining to the landlord once, and the guy said it’s likely because they are the only ones living on the second floor. But their names aren’t even similar in the slightest, it’s ridiculous. How do you mix up Goretzka and Hofmann? _Exactly._

He picks the letter from the floor and glares at it, as though it’s at fault for the mix-up. Then he drags his feet out of the flat. Should he do it now or later? Nah, he better gets it over with. Taking a long, deep breath, he walks towards his neighbour’s door and very hesitantly rings the bell.

The door swings open, taking Jonas by surprise. He supposes he should get used to his neighbour by now, but every single time he’s proven wrong. Leon has a slight frown on his face when he appears, but it quickly transforms into a smile when he sees Jonas.

“Jonas, to what do I owe this pleasure?” he asks, tilting his head slightly.

 Jonas ignores the obvious, flirty tone. This is nothing, he’s used to it. Or at least he tries to be. “Your mail ended up at my place. Again.” He shows Leon the letter.

“Ah,” Leon says, taking it, “Sorry about this,” despite not sounding apologetic. His gaze lingers on Jonas’ wet hair for a long second—too long. Feeling kinda uncomfortable, Jonas clears his throat. Leon looks back at him and gives him another smile.

Jonas is convinced that the twisty thing in his stomach is some kind of annoyance. It absolutely has nothing to do with how… good Leon smells, and the way his deep, brown eyes stare at Jonas. Yeah well, he’s rather good looking, but it doesn’t mean anything. Neither does his flirting, because he’s probably that flirty to everyone. Jonas doesn’t know much about Leon, other than he’s a model or something like that.

Which explains his clothing choice. Jonas won’t go anywhere near that kind of three quarter pants (and what colour are those? Beige? Pale brown?) he is wearing. The other day Jonas saw him wearing a bowler hat. Yes, _a bowler hat!_ Though to be fair, he never looks ridiculous.

“Thanks,” Leon tells him in a soft voice.

Jonas nods, hoping this will be the last time he got Leon’s mails. But he doubts it. “You’re welcome.”

Just as he’s about to turn around, Leon says, “Do you have anything to do tomorrow evening? How about a dinner with me?”

Jonas looks at him. “Tomorrow?”

“Yup,” Leon says, the smile still attached to his lips.

Well, this isn’t the first time Leon asks him out, and normally Jonas would find an excuse to turn him down. At first he thought Leon was just playing around with him. But it seems more and more like he genuinely wants to ask him out, and it’s getting harder for Jonas to say no.

“It sounds nice, but I—have a friend coming over tomorrow,” Jonas replies, lowering his gaze for a second before looking back up. The truth is he doesn’t. But it doesn’t matter, because there’s no way Leon seriously wants to go out with him. He must be expecting Jonas to decline anyway.

Disappointment flashes in Leon’s eyes, but he shrugs and it disappears so quickly that Jonas thinks he’s only imagining it _._ “Too bad. Maybe next time,” Leon says.

“Yeah.” Jonas doesn’t know what else to say. “See you around.” And before Leon says anything, he turns around and walks away, doesn’t stop until he reaches his door and slips inside. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he quickly writes to his friend Patrick: _Can you come over tomorrow evening?_

Patrick replies with a simple “Sure” five minutes later, when Jonas is pouring himself a glass of water in the kitchen. Jonas smiles as he reads the message. There, he’s not lying anymore. He puts his phone on the counter and starts preparing dinner.

It would be a lie if he said he never thought about accepting Leon’s offer, because he did. Once, maybe twice. But Jonas knows better than giving in to his stupid curiosity. Leon is no good for him; hell the guy has trouble written all over him. Jonas may not know him well, but he knows enough as he’s seen the kind of people Leon hangs out with. He has no idea why Leon even tried to ask him out, but he can’t mean it. Not when he’s surrounded by those tall, pretty people.

Jonas is grateful when the water is boiling, and no more pointless thoughts for the rest of the evening.

~*~

As soon as Leon closes the door, he hears Frederik say, “Smooth.” Ignoring him, Leon grabs his coffee mug from the table to get a refill in the kitchen. Being his nosy self, Frederik of course follows him. “Honestly though, leave the poor guy alone. You don’t really wanna go out with him.”

“Of course I do, why wouldn’t I?” Leon pours himself more coffee. Some people will say he’s addicted—and perhaps he is—but he needs his caffeine. Coffee is solely what keeps him through late night photoshoots.

Frederik crosses his arms over his chest, his expression incredulous. “With that neighbour of yours? Really?”

Leon is actually offended on Jonas’ behalf. “He’s nice and cute. What’s your problem?”

“He seems plain,” Frederik replies matter-of-factly, with a shrug. “Since when do you like plain?”

If Leon didn’t know better he’d start an argument, but he does, and it’s not worth it. He finishes his coffee and walks out of the kitchen.

The first time Leon saw Jonas was when he moved here. Leon was home one evening from a friend’s house, and the door of the flat next to him was opened. The place had been empty for months, but now it seemed that someone had moved in, judging from the boxes scattered around. Leon was about to walk around a box that stood in the hallway and blocked his way to his door, when a guy emerged.

“Hey, sorry. Let me move that,” the guy said apologetically. He bent over to lift the box, but Leon stopped him.

“It’s all right,” he said. “Moved in today?”

The guy nodded, straightening himself up. “Yeah, from Heidelberg.” He smiled, a little shyly.

He looked about Leon’s age, though he was a lot shorter. His eyes were the first thing Leon noticed about him. They were big and blue, and pretty. Very pretty. He wasn’t really the kind of guy Leon would normally be attracted to, but there was something about him, something undeniably sweet.

“I’m Leon. We’re neighbours.” Leon extended his hand.

“Jonas.” Jonas took it.

Leon held Jonas’ hand longer than he needed to. What the hell was he doing? He shouldn’t scare the poor guy off already on his first day. Leon didn’t even know if Jonas was into men at all. But from the way Jonas’ gaze flickered on Leon’s lips for a second too long before going back to his eyes, maybe the luck was on Leon’s side. Trying not to smile, Leon released his hand.

“I, uh, I’ll see you around then.” Jonas took a step back, brushing his hand on the side of his jeans.

 _Cute_. Leon nodded. “You bet.” Jonas blinked, before picking up the box near his feet and walking back inside.

That was more than three months ago, and of course it wasn’t the last time Leon flirted with him. In fact, he does it almost every time they meet. He can’t help it, Jonas is cute and somewhat intriguing. He swears that he has nothing to do with the mail mix-ups, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t happy it keeps happening from time to time.

It’s also obvious that the attraction isn’t one sided. Leon has seen the way Jonas watches him, when he thinks Leon isn’t looking. He doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. Yet, Jonas never wants to go out with him, which is probably the wise thing to do.

“You’re going to Stefan’s party on Friday?” Frederik’s voice pulls him out of his reverie.

Leon reaches for the remote control and switches the channel. “Sure, why not?”

“Cool. It’s gonna be lit,” Frederik says with a grin, putting his feet up on the coffee table. “Stefan throws great parties.”

“Keep your feet off my table.” Leon nudges him with his elbow.

Frederik rolls his eyes but doesn’t argue.

~*~

Saturday morning is justified to do nothing and not feeling bad about it. Jonas needs to do the laundry and some grocery shopping, but they can wait. For now he’s perfectly contented with curling on the sofa, having his hot tea while watching silly morning TV. He’s not really into American sitcoms, but once in a while he’ll watch some morning rerun when nothing more interesting is on.

When he’s finished off his tea, Jonas reluctantly stands up. He can’t put it off any longer, better does the shopping now before the traffic gets worse. Grabbing the car key, he wears his jacket and opens the door. He doesn’t expect to find Leon standing in front of his own door, seemingly trying to find his key in his wallet.

“Morning,” Jonas says, out of courtesy.

Leon turns his head, giving him a nod and a small smile. He looks like—a mess, and that’s putting it lightly. His hair is messy disarray, there are dark circles under his eyes, and a frown that never leaves his face. Yet somehow he still looks… good. How is that even humanely possible?

“Are you okay?” Jonas asks.

“Yeah, just a bit of hangover, no biggie,” Leon says, sounding as laid-back as usual, in contrast to his permanent frown.

Jonas should leave, like right now, if he wants to make it before the midmorning traffic. But instead he watches as Leon closes his eyes for a second before putting the key into the keyhole.

“You should drink some herbal tea, it’s a good cure for hangover.” The words just spill out of his mouth.

Leon slowly turns his head at him again. “Would be great, but I don’t have any tea,” he says.

Really, who doesn’t have tea? Well, too bad, right? At this point, Jonas has no more reason to stick around. Remember the traffic? But being the idiot that he is, he says, “I do. Let me get you some.” He’s half hoping Leon will say no.

“Thanks,” Leon replies after a moment, unlocking the door and walks inside, leaving the door open.

Jonas has no time to dwell on regret. Helping people is good, right? Whoever it is. He gets into his own apartment to get the tea, and then enters Leon’s. Now if he thinks about it, this is the first time he’s in Leon’s apartment. He’s seen some of it, when Leon opened the door to get his mails, but he never actually went inside, until now. It’s probably the same size as his but couldn’t look more different. There are several artistic paintings in the living room, two long, light grey sofas along the walls, meeting in the corner, and a low, white coffee table lies in front of them

The whole place has a modern and minimalistic vibe that seems to suit Leon perfectly. Compared to this, Jonas’ apartment looks generic and—empty. Though he prefers to call it practical.

“Right, here it is,” Jonas says, lifting the tea box. “It’s peppermint, good for your stomach, too. Chamomile with honey is also good, but let’s try peppermint for now.”

“Do you have a lot of kinds of tea?” Leon’s voice is almost teasing.

Jonas ignores it. He loves tea, so what. “I have a few.”

Leon is leaning near the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. He shrugs and enters the kitchen. Jonas sighs before following him.

No talk is needed when both of them are busy with their hands. Leon fills an electric kettle with water before turning it on, and Jonas finds a cup in the cupboard. But then there’s nothing more they can do when they’re waiting for the water to boil.

“Only one cup?” Leon asks, gesturing at the cup on the counter. “The water’s enough for five cups, I’d say.”

Jonas shakes his head. “I’ve had my tea.”

“Of course,” Leon says. He lightly presses his fingers on his temples. “I’m more of a coffee person.”

“I don’t drink coffee,” Jonas says automatically. The reaction he gets is pretty hilarious: Leon drops his hand and stares at him as if he’s grown a third arm.

“Seriously?” Leon asks, almost like he’s in awe. “I don’t think I’ve met a person who doesn’t drink coffee.” Now it’s Jonas’s turn to shrug. Leon watches him, letting out a chuckle. “Well, at least now I know I shouldn’t take you out to a coffee shop.”

Jonas suppresses the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, such a mundane thing as hangover won’t stop Leon from hitting on him. But it doesn’t annoy Jonas. A small—very small—part of him is kinda flattered Leon still talks about asking him out.

It doesn’t take long for the water to boil, to Jonas’ relief. He brews the tea and brings the cup to Leon after it’s done. Leon lifts the cup and sips it carefully after blowing it a few times.

“Not bad,” he says, when Jonas looks at him questioningly. “It’s not coffee, but not bad.”

“How do you feel?”

Leon drinks off the first cup and pours himself another one. “Better.” Jonas can’t hold back his smile, and Leon notices that. “Fine, you can tell me ‘I told you so’,” he says with feigned annoyance, making Jonas laugh.

“I told you so.”

Leon laughs, too, and he sounds so good that Jonas allows himself to look at him for a second. One second and that’s it.

When they walk out of the kitchen, Jonas spots a dartboard on the far wall. “Oh, I love darts,” he exclaims, automatically. He turns to Leon, who’s watching him with a small smile.

“So do I,” Leon replies. “Got that dartboard for my 22nd birthday two years ago.”

So, that makes him 24 years old. It’s kinda weird, because Jonas expected him to be a little older. Jonas himself will be 25 next month, which means there’s one year age difference between them. Right, pointless information.

“Cool,” Jonas doesn’t know anything else to say. Leon is still watching him, and Jonas has to look away, before he says something he’d regret. Sometimes his brain just doesn’t filter the words that tumble out of his mouth.

His gaze falls on the PlayStation 4 console under the TV, then at the stack of games next to it. A particular game catches his eyes. “No way, you play Madden, too?” Jonas turns back at Leon, failing to conceal his excitement. “That’s great. None of my friends really play.”

“What’s your team?” Leon asks, a hint of smile plays at the corners of his mouth.

“Atlanta Falcons.” Despite them losing Super Bowl this year. “Yours?”

“Nice.” Leon thoughtfully nods. “The Seahawks.”

Jonas opens his mouth to comment but before he says anything, Leon’s phone goes off loudly. Leon takes it from his pocket and peers at the screen. But instead of answering it, he throws the phone on the sofa, while it keeps ringing.

“Aren’t you gonna answer that?” Jonas asks.

“Nah, it’s just one of my friends from last night, probably checking where I am.” He sounds totally unconcerned. Jonas doesn’t understand how he can be this chill when his phone is trying to make them deaf.

“Won’t he—they—be worried if you don’t pick up?” Jonas asks again, raising his voice to drown out the noise.

Leon raises his hand dismissively. “He’ll think I’m sleeping. It’s fine, he’ll stop in a sec.” And like magic, a moment after he said it, the phone stops ringing. Unbelievable. “So, you were saying?”

“Nothing. I gotta get going. Need to do some grocery shopping before midday,” Jonas says, glancing at his watch. “You should probably get some sleep. I left the tea in the kitchen, drink some more later.”

“Thanks, mum,” Leon replies jokingly, but there’s something like…fondness on his face. Jonas hopes he is wrong.

They both walk towards the door. “Do you need something from the store?” he asks. Helping each other out is a common thing between neighbours, right?

This time the fond expression on Leon’s face is unmistakable as he looks at Jonas, making Jonas’ stomach twist. “No. But, thank you.”

All right, then there’s nothing more Jonas can do for him. He’s about to turn away when Leon says, “Come over tomorrow, we can play darts together. And some Madden.”

Jonas hesitates. Is this another attempt to hit on him? It probably is. But it’s really tempting. Jonas loves Madden, and it’s much more fun to play against a real opponent. Patrick may be the king of FIFA but he’s hopeless at Madden, so there’s no pride in beating him.

“Okay,” Jonas says, against his better judgement.

Leon smiles. “See you tomorrow.”

~*~

The hangout with Leon goes well the next day, Jonas shouldn’t have been worried. They play darts for a few rounds, with Jonas winning almost every round. He’s rather good at darts, although he suspects that Leon doesn’t try harder. But on Madden, it’s another story. Leon leads with ten points until the end of the second quarter, then Jonas scores a touchdown in the third quarter, closing the gap. But unfortunately that’s the only time he scores. When there are thirty seconds or so left of the fourth quarter, Jonas makes a desperate decision of trying for a touchdown on his third down, instead of the safer option of going for a field goal. Well, he’s four points behind, and a field goal only gives three points. But his player gets tackled, and then the game is over. Jonas swears loudly, causing Leon to break into laughter.

But, they have fun. Although losing is not fun. At all. Leon doesn’t try anything funny, apart from his usual flirty lines. But they are often said with humour, and they don’t bother Jonas as much as he thought.

“I want a rematch,” Jonas says, automatically, after the game ends. It’s just one of the things he does without thinking, like losing to Patrick on FIFA and demanding a rematch, despite knowing he’ll get his butt kicked again. It’s a natural thing to do for the competitive person that he is. Except this time it’s not Patrick, it’s Leon. And when Jonas realises this, his heartbeat picks up pace.

Leon looks over at him with a half-smile on his lips. “Anytime.”

Jonas watches him for a moment, before remembering that he has to say something. “Cool,” he says after clearing his throat.

~*~

He’ll only do it once. That’s what Jonas keeps telling himself. He’ll beat Leon this time and that will be it. But he should have known by now that nothing is that simple, when it comes to Leon.

So, Jonas comes to Leon’s place on Tuesday and they play, and it looks good for a while, until Leon scores two touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter, and Jonas never really manages to catch up. So, he loses, again. Leon looks at him, as if knowing what he’s about to say.

“Tomorrow?” Jonas asks. He’s such a bad loser, always has been.

“I’ll have a photoshoot all day tomorrow. How about Thursday?”

Jonas nods. “Thursday’s good.” He swears he’s gonna win this time, whatever it takes.

It’s easier said than done. On Thursday, the exact same thing happens. Jonas is only behind by three points, until the third quarter where Leon intercepts and scores a fucking touchdown. God, it’s frustrating. He just wants to beat him once, just once. Jonas doesn’t throw the controller when it’s over, but he was close.

“You okay there?” Leon asks.

“No… I don’t know.” Jonas sighs. “It’s ridiculous.” It really is.

Leon gently shakes his head. “Tell me,” he demands softly.

“It’s just… I don’t know why it bothers me so much to lose. I lost a lot of video games before,” Jonas says, leaning back on the couch. “My friend Patrick destroys me on FIFA all the time, and yet I keep challenging him. Guess, I don’t know when to stop.” He lets out a small laugh and turns to Leon, who smiles. “The thing is I’m fine at losing to him on FIFA, because I know he’s so much better than me. But I used to think I’m good at Madden. I almost never lost, and now I just can’t beat you.” He stops for a second, before saying quietly, “I wanna beat you.”

Leon watches him, his expression as usual unreadable. Jonas breaks the eye contact by averting his gaze to the TV screen. “Sorry. I’m sure you’d rather spend your evening somewhere else.” With someone else.  

“I like playing with you.”

Jonas feels something weird in the pit of his stomach, a weird fluttery feeling, as if a bunch of birds are trapped inside. “I like playing with you, too,” he says, and he genuinely means it.

“Let’s play again tomorrow,” Leon says, putting his controller on the table. “If you want.”

Jonas can’t hide his surprise. “Really? You don’t have anything more interesting to do on a Friday night?”

He must look pretty taken aback, because Leon laughs. “Don’t you think this is interesting?”

“Well yes, for me,” Jonas says truthfully. It’s a normal thing for him to spend his weekend playing video games with his friends. But Leon? Jonas expects him to do much cooler things on weekends. “But not for someone like you. Wouldn’t you rather hang out with your friends, or do some modelling related stuff?”

“Someone like me?” Leon asks, sounding amused.

“Yeah, someone as hot as you.” Jonas’ cheeks are burning as soon as the words leave his mouth. Again, his stupid brain’s inability to filter the words he says. He fights the urge to run away and hide until the end of the year. _God, Jonas, what the fuck?_ He bites his lip, avoiding Leon’s eyes.

Leon’s laugh sounds good, painfully good. “You’re really adorable,” he says, in a soft tone. And Jonas makes a stupid mistake by looking at him.

His eyes meets Leon’s for a moment, before his gaze wanders down to his lips. They look—perfect. Jonas’ skin tingles, and he starts to feel lightheaded when he realises what he’s doing. _Bad move_. Leon stays still, his eyes never leave Jonas’ face. Then slowly, he leans closer, just a bit. Jonas’ eyes widen slightly, but he doesn’t move away.  

“So,” Leon says, his voice a little lower than usual. “Tomorrow?”

Jonas’ reply is more of a whisper, “Yeah.”

~*~

It’s not supposed to be like this.

Leon isn’t supposed to be this attached to him. He always thinks that Jonas is cute, but the more he knows him the more he is drawn to him. There’s a genuine sweetness about him that Leon likes. He’s not used to people being nice to him for no reason. Usually when people are nice to him they want something, and it’s fine, because Leon is exactly the same. He’s not proud of it, but he’s been doing it for so long that he can’t do it any other way.

But Jonas isn’t like that. And it intrigues him.

It kinda amazes him how much Jonas wants to beat him on Madden. It’s not that Leon isn’t a competitive person. He doesn’t like losing either, but normally he just doesn’t care that much. It crosses his mind a few times that he can make it easier for Jonas, but then he thinks that Jonas might stop coming over once he wins. So, Leon doesn’t do it. He enjoys Jonas’ presence, even when all they do is playing video games.

He’d be lying if he said there weren’t other things he would like to do with Jonas, but he’s not gonna rush it. Leon isn’t blind, he can see that Jonas is attracted to him, too, although he’s not yet ready to do anything about it. So, Leon has to wait. And it’s okay, he can do that. He can wait.    

Three envelopes lie on the floor when Leon opens the door. He picks them up. One is a copy of a contract that his agent has promised to mail to him, the other one is a monthly bill, and… the last one is a letter to Jonas from someone in Mannheim.

A smile crosses his face. The mail mix-up is still going on apparently. He puts all of them on the table; he’ll give Jonas his letter when he comes over later. Leon texted him earlier that he’d be home around half past eight, and that he could come around nine. Glancing at the clock, it’s still twenty minutes to nine. Plenty of time to shower.

Leon is barely done putting his clothes on when the doorbell rings. Well, it’s a bit early. He runs a hand through his damp hair and strides out of the bedroom. Familiar faces come into view when he opens the door, but neither of them is Jonas.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asks.

Three of his friends are standing in front of the door. Leon knows them for a fairly long time, and he’s not surprised when they invite themselves in. Leon exhales softly before closing the door. What is the chance of him sending them away before Jonas is here?

“Great to see you, too, Leon,” Anna says, leaning up to kiss his cheek. Leon rolls his eyes but he lets her. When she pulls away, Frederik and then Theo give him a quick hug.

“We haven’t seen you in a week. Where have you been, man?” Frederik asks. “You even missed our bowling night yesterday.”

Before Leon replies, the doorbell once again rings. He inwardly curses. _Fuck it._

Anna looks at him curiously. “Are you expecting someone?”

“Yeah,” he says. “Wait a second.” Now all three of them are looking at him, but Leon doesn’t have time to explain. He walks to the door and opens it. Despite the situation, he can’t help smiling when he sees Jonas. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jonas’ smile is a little bit unsure, a little bit timid, and Leon really wants to kiss him. But he can’t do that in front of his friends, who—he’s sure—are watching them like hawks.

Leon is trying to figure out what to tell Jonas about them, when Anna emerges behind him. “Who’s your friend, Leon?”

Looking at Jonas’ face, things have just gotten from bad to worse. Leon should’ve walked outside and closed the door behind him. Now it’s too late, and Jonas seems to get the wrong idea about Anna. “Come on in, Jonas,” he says, stepping back to give him space. At least then he’ll see that Leon wasn’t alone with her.

Jonas hesitates for a second before walking inside. He stops on his tracks when he sees Theo and Frederik.

“This is Anna,” Leon says, standing near him. “That’s Frederik, and Theo.” He gives his friends a quick glance. “This is Jonas. My next door neighbour.” They all briefly shake hands. Leon turns to Jonas. “They were here literally five minutes before you came.”

“We’re going to Crimson,” Anna says. “You’re going with us, right?” She looks at Leon. “Alexandra, Daniel, Kathryn and the others will be there, too.”

“Yeah, man, come on,” Theo joins in.

Leon doesn’t even take some time to consider. “I can’t, sorry. I’ve promised Jonas.”

“Can’t you do it another day?” Frederik asks, sounding unconcerned. “You already ditched us yesterday.” Before Leon says anything, Frederik turns to Jonas. “Is it something important?” though his tone clearly indicates that he doesn’t care even if it is.

Jonas shakes his head. “It’s not.”

“It’s settled, then. Let’s go," Frederik says, putting his hand on Leon’s arm.

Leon pulls his arm free. “I said I’m not going. Weren’t you listening?” He doesn’t want to pick up a fight with his friend, but he really doesn’t like the way Frederik speaks to Jonas. The hell does he think he is?

Sensing the tension between them, Anna quickly says, “Jonas can come with us.” She looks at him and smiles. “Have you been to Crimson? They have the best cocktails.”

Jonas looks back at her. “No, I haven’t.”

“You’ll love it,” she assures him. “Come with us. It’s okay right, guys?”

Theo nods, while Frederik mumbles something like ‘whatever’. Both of them walk out of the room, followed by Anna. Leon moves closer to Jonas. “You sure you wanna go?”

Shrugging lightly, Jonas says, “I guess. It’s just a club, right?”

“Yeah.” Well, hopefully nothing more will go wrong. One can only hope.

 Jonas glances at him one more time before leaving the room.

~*~

Why is he here again?

The place is undoubtedly nice. But Jonas has never felt more out of place in his life. He thought there would only be a few more Leon’s friends; he did not expect a room full of them. But he’s not going to miss them anywhere. All of them are tall, well-dressed, and beautiful. Like Leon. And like Leon, there is a certain confident vibe about them that will turn heads wherever they are.

How naïve of Jonas to think that it wouldn’t be a problem to join them. None of them bothers to even give him a second glance. Anna is the only one being kinda nice to him, but she was busy talking to two other girls and now is nowhere to be seen. Leon was with him when they arrived, but then a group of people pulled him away. He told Jonas he’d be back soon.

Except that how soon is soon? It’s already half an hour since he left. Not that Jonas keeps checking his watch or anything.

Trailing his fingers on the rim of his beer glass, Jonas takes a deep breath. He shouldn’t be here. He’s not even sure why he agreed to come with them. Is it because he didn’t have anything else to do, or because he wanted to get a closer look at Leon’s world? If it’s the latter then it’s great because he did get it.

Someone sits down on the stool next to him. Jonas shifts uncomfortably when he sees that it’s Frederik. The guy doesn’t like him, it’s quite obvious. Then why is he sitting next to him? Frederik orders a drink, doesn’t seem to acknowledge Jonas’ existence. Well, fine, then Jonas will also ignore him. He sips his beer, once in a while moving his legs to the music. And Frederik still hasn’t moved.

Jonas is wondering if he should find another place when the guy puts his glass down and turns to him. His gaze is pretty intimidating, but Jonas doesn’t look away.

“You think Leon digs you,” he says. “And you’re not wrong. He does.”

How is he supposed to reply to that? Jonas watches him, sure he’s not done yet. Frederik is quiet for a moment before saying again, “Because you’re different than the rest of us. You’re like, the boy next door that everyone likes. It’s new for him, it’s exciting. But, at some point he’ll get bored.”

Jonas feels his body tense. He tries not to take what Frederik said seriously, but it makes… sense. He never understands why someone like Leon wants to get involved with someone like him anyway.

 “Look, you might think I’m the bad guy here. The truth is I’ve known Leon for a long time, and he just won’t settle for anyone.” _Never mind for someone like you._ He doesn’t say the last part, but Jonas can read between the lines. “You seem like a decent guy. I don’t want you to get hurt, all right?”

“Thanks for your concern,” Jonas replies curtly. Frederik nods, but he doesn’t say more.

Jonas doesn’t know how long he stares at his beer glass, drowning out the music with his thoughts. He almost jumps when someone touches his shoulder.

“Sorry, it took longer than I expected,” Leon says, his face breaks into a smile the moment Jonas meets his eyes. But his expression hardens when he spots Frederik. “Did I miss anything?”

Frederik pushes his glass away. “I’m just leaving. Is Agatha here?”

“Yeah, over there with the others.” Leon motions at a group of people in the far corner.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Frederik says, climbing off the stool. He gives Jonas a slight nod and quickly disappears amongst the sea of people.

Leon sits down on the now empty stool. He leans towards Jonas and says, “Anna’s right, this place has the best cocktails. Have you tried their Espresso Martini? Or Screwdriver?”

Jonas shakes his head. “I’m more of a beer person.”

“Right,” Leon says, with a smile. “The beers aren’t bad either.” When Jonas doesn’t respond, he asks again, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Jonas forces himself to smile, but Leon doesn’t seem to buy it. A mild concern is apparent on his face.

“Did Frederik say something that annoyed you?”

Jonas shrugs, averting his eyes back at his beer glass that’s still more than half full. “Nothing I didn’t know already.”

“Jonas, if he—“ he starts but Jonas cuts him off.

“I wanna go home. You can go back to your friends.”

“Then let’s go home,” Leon says.

Jonas looks at him. “What will your friends think if you leave?”

“Who cares what they think.” Leon straightens his legs and stands up. “Let’s go.”

Outside the club, Leon calls for a cab and as soon as it arrives, they get in. The cab driver tries to start a conversation once, but after only getting a few short, polite responses he gives up and turns his attention back to the road. Neither Jonas nor Leon speaks for the rest of the way.

~*~

Jonas unlocks the door to his flat and flicks on the light switch. He hears Leon’s footsteps behind him as he enters the room. Letting out a deep breath, Jonas takes off his jacket and throws it on the sofa.

“Jonas,” Leon starts. His voice is soft, yet it demands a full attention. It’s amazing how Leon does it effortlessly. Jonas turns around in a slow, hesitant motion, and their eyes meet. “What did Frederik tell you?”

He guesses he can’t stall this conversation forever. “That we’re different. _I’m_ different. And you like me because of that,” Jonas says, half expecting Leon to say something. But he doesn’t. “But eventually, you’ll get bored of me.”

Leon watches him, with his usual unreadable expression, but something flickers in his eyes. “He said that?”

“He’s not wrong, though, is he?” Jonas says. Everything Frederik said makes sense. Jonas may not like it, but it doesn’t make it less true.

“No. At least not completely,” Leon admits after one second of silence. “You are different, in a good way.” His expression softens when a smile graces his lips. “You see, I’ve been away from home for as long as I can remember. I’ve lived in Paris, New York, Berlin, you name it. My family has found a way to deal with me not being around, and so have I with not being around them. And it’s fine, I’m used to it. This is my life, you know. I didn’t care much about anything, or anyone, and it worked out for me just fine.”

He stops, locking his gaze with Jonas’. For the first time since Jonas’s known him, the air of confidence borderline arrogance that always surrounded him is gone. He looks strangely unsure, a little bit vulnerable. Jonas doesn’t know what to feel about this side of Leon.

“But then you came along,” Leon continues. “You and your pretty eyes, and your excitement about the small, seemingly unimportant things like darts and video games, and tea. You’ve always been nice to me, without expecting anything in return.” He pauses and gently smiles, making Jonas feel warm all over. “You’re a breath of fresh air that I didn’t know I needed. How is it possible for me not to feel anything about you?”

Jonas swallows, his throat feels incredibly dry. “Until I stop being exciting, and then you’ll get tired of me,” he manages to let it out.

“I will not.”

“Frederik said—“ Jonas starts and this time Leon doesn’t let him finish.

“Screw what Frederik said. He knows nothing about me.” He looks really annoyed now. Jonas watches him as he threads his fingers through his hair.

“He’s known you for a long time,” Jonas points out.

Leon gently shakes his head. “Doesn’t mean he knows me, not more than what I let him see.”

Okay, fair enough. But that’s not all. “You won’t settle for anyone.” Jonas doesn’t know why he keeps going. What is he trying to achieve exactly?

“I _wouldn’t_ settle for anyone,” Leon corrects him. “Never wanted to. Until recently.” He smiles, looking at Jonas with his big, shiny eyes that make Jonas feel things he doesn’t want to feel.

“Don’t—look at me like that,” Jonas says.

“Why not?”

“Because this,” Jonas gestures at both of them, “you and me, we don’t make sense.” Can’t he really see that?

Leon doesn’t seem to think that it’s a big deal. “So what if we don’t? Does everything always have to make sense?” he asks, taking two steps closer. “I like you. And from what I can tell, you like me, too. I don’t care about the rest.” He takes one more step forward, and another one. “Correct me if I’m wrong.”

Jonas can’t back away even if he wanted to. “You’re not,” he says, his voice comes out as a soft murmur.

“Good.” Leon closes the remaining distance between them then puts his hand on the curve where Jonas’ neck meets his shoulder. “May I kiss you?”

The noise that comes out of Jonas’ mouth sounds like mixture of a gasp and a suppressed laugh. Leon must have taken it as a yes, because he smiles and the next thing Jonas knows, their bodies are pressed together and Leon leans down to kiss him.

Leon’s lips are warm; Jonas can taste a hint of something sweet when his tongue brushes against them. He hears a soft intake of breath and realises that it’s his own. His hand slides up Leon’s side, clutching his shirt tightly. Jonas didn’t even finish his beer, but he feels completely intoxicated.

He slowly opens his eyes when Leon pulls away, doesn’t even remember closing them. Leon smiles, caressing Jonas’ jawline with his thumb. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” he says.

Jonas looks at him, doesn’t trust his ability to form a coherent sentence. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Leon says, his thumb gently moves across Jonas’ cheek.

They stand like that for a moment, until Jonas’ breathing is back to normal, and he feels less lightheaded. Leon has his eyes on him the entire time. “Your letter ended up at my place,” he says. “It’s from someone in Mannheim.”

“Must be my grandma. She sometimes sends me old recipes,” Jonas says. He frowns when Leon lets out a chuckle. “What?”

“It’s so cute.”

Jonas tries to look annoyed but fails. “I still want my rematch,” he says, as he suddenly remembers. Leon leans forward to kiss him one more time, smiling when he pulls back.

“Anytime.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. <3


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